Would YOU Hire These Companies?

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It gets to be a drag sometimes trying to compete for business, especially in the Social Media arena. So many “experts”! So many “gurus”! Granted, many are good at what they do and I salute them. But I’m amazed at how many seem to have set up shop overnight; wonder if they actually get any business. And, as in any industry, true talent ranges from faking’ it to well-seasoned and knowledgeable.

Recently, a rather interesting company started following me. Am I worried about competition from them? Heck no! They supplied some welcome comic relief that I really needed and provided a perfect example of who you shouldn’t hire. Note: The name of the Twitter account has been changed.

The bio reads: @NOCRED_PR_LLC “is a Social Media Brand Management company that makes managing & growth of your social media presence Affordable & Effective. (followed by a URL)

The bio is certainly promising. The URL was not. It led to a personal profile on Facebook, and in this gent’s profile picture, a playboy bunny was getting cozy with him. The bottom of the photo read “IRockParties.com”.

Are you reaching for the phone yet? No? Well perhaps a sampling of tweets will get you calling:
“Who else on the West Coast Right Now?”
“1000 Twitter Followers in 24 Hrs”
“Give me a Call 555-555-1212 for any #Twitter Inquiries”
“Today's Publicity Sale of the Week!!! 10,000 Twitter Followers @ $59 Per 1,000!!! Deal Lasts only for the next 36 hrs!!! Call 5555551212” (this one has been posted steadily for the last few weeks).

Does the bio match the tweets? Enough said.

And here’s another “expert” that had freely posted the following in a LinkedIn group (name has been changed):

“Hi everyone! My name is Paul Olssen and I am known as The Twitter and Social Media Guru! I have over 222,000 followers on Twitter. My Social Media company is absolutely the best there is at branding you and your company as the leader in your category in every facet of social media. We are the best at what we do. Contact me and we can discuss your needs and how we can help you!”

According to LinkedIn, this gent is presently works at five companies, several of which he is CEO of. For each job description there’s this:
“Online Media Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Networking, Social Media Trends, Social Media Content, Online Media Content, LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, Ping.Fm, Linked, Online Media Strategist, Social Media Trainer, Social Media Marketing Strategies, Social Media Blog, Social Media Philosophy, LinkedIn for Business, LinkedIn to success, Linkedin video, Social Media, ….”

That’s only the first five lines; there are 25 lines of this babble which seems to be a batch of misplaced keywords.

What’s wrong with BOTH of these ambitious people? The first things that come to mind are:
• Lack of credibility: No background, no foundation. What have they done? What was the outcome? How long have they been doing it? Mr. Olssen had five recommendations on LinkedIn, but do you believe they are true recommendations from clients?
• 222,000 followers on Twitter told me immediately how the bulk of Mr. Olssen’s time is spent. Sorry, but the number of followers that someone has does NOT make them a rock star!
• Lack of professionalism: Just not seeing any professional chops from either of these examples. And let’s face it; posing with a playboy bunny would kill the deal for most people…is that where my hard earned cash goes?
• Direct sales approach: Social Media is not a sales tool, yet these two “experts” use it as such.
• Spelling and Grammar. No comment necessary.

Now that you've seen when it’s obvious who NOT to hire, for my next blog post I’ll discuss a few things to look for when seeking out assistance with social media.

Words, Words, Words! Blogging, Part Two

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For part one, click here.

How much? We’re not talking about an enovel here. Rule of thumb: Assume most people with an interest in your blog are going to allow no more than three minutes to read what you have to say; some will spend as little as a minute. So make it light, breezy and interesting enough to keep them reading to the end.

Keep it around 500 words.  Now, don’t force it to be that; if it’s 400 to 600, that’s okay. As your readership grows, it’s tempting to cram more words into one blog post. Don’t.  Split your subject into two parts instead; you’ll have readers coming back to hear the rest of the story plus you’re adding another touch point. Helpful hint: Don’t plan on a two-parter, then write part one and quit for the day; part two may never happen then. By the time you get around to it, the subject may not be so interesting anymore, so no blog post. Trust me, I know!

Just spit it out. If you haven’t had a lot of experience in the writing arena, write it like you are talking to someone in conversation. Tell the story. Record it first if you have too, then play back and type it up (or use software to do that for you!). You’ll sound natural and come across as true to your readers (because you ARE). You can always tweak it a little for a bit of polish just before posting.

Paragraphs should be no longer than eight lines. Why, you ask? Anything longer than that causes a loss of interest; it's a lot to absorb, a bit overwhelming, and may result in your readers bailing. 

Keep in mind that what you publish will be in a public forum and can be searched. Will what you’re saying prevent you from getting that important job interview? Could it get you fired from your job? Or is it going to portray you as the shining, intelligent person that you are?

As you grow your content and write more, you may find that you are running into time constraints. After all, you’ve been spending time promoting that blog too, no? (that’s another subject we’ll conquer on another day.) Why not get some assistance? Ask people you know that are also subject matter experts in your area to write for your blog. Are they thinking about starting their own blogs?

Let them test the waters by guest starring on yours. One less post you need to write for the week. Ah…relief!

DO write in Word rather than directly in the blog, for several reasons, including these:
•    Easily check word count
•    Easy check spelling and grammar
•    In more recent versions of Word, there’s a built in Thesaurus
•    It’s nice to have a backup of what you’ve written.

And of course, read through what you’ve written. I’m notorious for typing “the” when I mean “they” and “there” instead of “their”; your “quirks” may differ from mine. It’s easy to overlook them yourself, after all, YOU are proofing YOU! Better yet, pass along your draft to another pair of eyes; NOT for the purpose of changing, rearranging or rewriting but just to catch those little blips.  The result: A more professional post that is (most likely) error free, thus ensuring a more enjoyable read for your readers.

Before posting, it’s a good idea to wipe out all that coding “behind the scenes” in Word before actually posting in your blog. Fortunately, it’s an easy step. Using Notepad, copy your text in. Then copy what’s in Notepad to your blog. Formatting SHOULD come out okay, but sometimes there’s a little adjusting, for example, adding space between paragraphs.

Add the title and a related picture. Pictures tell the story too and draw interest to your post. If you must use something from a page on the internet, acknowledging where it came from is a good idea.

Of course, you can add several photos to your post, placing them near the relevant copy. I like to keep it simple with one. My preference is at the top, on the right side, but whatever you are comfortable with works.

Remember, anything gets easier with practice. That goes for the writing and the process of posting as well.



Stay tuned for Part 3...